An Analysis of the Teaching of Moral Self-Cultivation in Chinese Didactic Literature Càiɡēn Tán

Abstract

This article aims to examine in detail the content of the moral teachings for self-cultivation and personal value development which appear in the Chinese didactic literary work Càiɡēn Tán (菜根谭). The content of the teaching in Càiɡēn Tán reflects three major Chinese philosophical principles or sān jiào (三教), namely Taoism, Confucianism and Mahayana Buddhism, especially Zen Buddhism in this work, of which the sayings have great influence over Chinese culture. For this research, the teachings in Càiɡēn Tán are classified into 9 main groups, as follow: 1) broad minded benevolence versus narrow-minded selfishness; 2) honesty versus hypocrisy 3) modesty versus egotism; 4) simplicity and fulfillment versus extravagance and insatiability; 5) perseverance versus laziness; 6) patience and indefatigability versus impatience and disheartenment; 7) non-attachment versus attachment; 8) caution and moderate practice versus carelessness and extreme practice; 9) enlightenment by connecting to the nature versus delusion to the untruth